io*s. in. FEB. 4. INS.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
87
made his will, and "having," as he says,
"neither wife nor children of my owne,"
was able to leave liberal bequests to his five
sisters Jane, Abigail, and Mary Taubman,
of the city of Dublin, spinsters ; Elizabeth
Cumberford, also of Dublin ; and Eleanor
Warren, residing near that city. An uncle,
Thomas Taubman, of St. Martin's-in-the-
Fields, woodmonger, is likewise mentioned.
The will was proved on 12 March, 1723/4
(P.C.C. 71, Bolton). GORDON GOODWIN.
"LARCIN": BEVAN. A much later use of larcin than any given in the ' X.E.D.' list of quotations is to be found in a poem entitled ' Christmas,' which is set out in a foot-note to Letter iv. of the ' Parochial Letters from a Beneficed Clergyman to his Curate,' pub- lished in 1829. The line runs :
Committed on the long " half year " a larcin, the latter word riming with " parsing," and so showing that the final g was not sounded. The poem, which runs to some 200 lines, abounds in points, as do the letters. I am afraid the author is one of those " whose memorials have perished with him," or almost so. A pencil note states him to be the Rev. Be van, of Worcester College. The letters show him to have been earnest and practical : the poem, clever and jovial. Perhaps some kindly pen will be able to give him an enduring niche in the pages of ' X. & Q.,' as he seems to have missed a place among those honoured in our 'Diet, of Nat. Biog.'
HOLCOMBE INGLEBY. Sedgeford Hall, Norfolk.
WE must request correspondents desiring in-
formation on family matters of only private interest
to affix their names and addresses to their queries,
in order that the answers may be sent to them
direct.
ENGLISHMEN HOLDING POSITIONS UNDER FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. Can any readers oblige me with the names of Englishmen who are occupying important positions under foreign Governments, or have occupied them in the past? Examples which occur to me are Kaid Maclean, at present, and Sir John Acton, who was Prime Minister at Naples at the end of the eighteenth century. R. DE C.
[" Chinese " Gordon is a notable instance.]
ETON LISTS : MR. CLAYTON'S COLLECTION. Among the late Mr. Chetwynd-Stapylton's papers is a letter from Lord Monson, written in 1861, in the course of which occurs the following passage :
" I have had a letter from Mr. Lambert Larking,
the antiquary of Kent, and he tells me of Mr.
Clayton having the largest and oldest collection of
Eton Lists he ever saw Mr. Clayton's collection
contains a Montem List about 1743." Can any reader tell me anything about this Mr. Clayton, or where his collection now is ? R. A. AUSTEN LEIGH.
8, St. James's Street, S.W.
STRAHAN, PUBLISHER. Who carries on the business of Alexander or Alfred Strahan, who was a publisher in London in the seventies 1 I want to get particulars of a book he issued about 1875. W. J. JOHNSTON.
[Alexander Strahan's books are now divided among Messrs. Isbister, Messrs. Sonnenschein, and Messrs. Kegan Paul.]
"HARPIST." This is a vile word, the earliest example of which, according to the 'H.E.D.,' is 1613-16, W. Browne, * Brit. Past.,' ii. v. : That Oeagrian harpist, for whose lay, Tigers with hunger pinde and left their pray.
The Guardian (24 September, 1890) is also cited for " Mr. John Thomas, harpist to the Queen." The 'D.N.B.' has not escaped the word. Was the older form "harper," which has furnished a number of people with a pleasant surname, not fine enough or too old-fashioned? A. R, BAYLEY.
HOUR OF SUNSET AT WASHINGTON. At what time does the sun set on 15 December at Washington ? E. N. F. C.
LAUREL CROWNS AT OLYMPIA. Is there any authority for the common statement that the crowns of the Olympian victors were formed from the Alexandrian laurel Danae (or fiuscus) racemosa ?
H. N. ELLACOMBE.
" THE HUNGRY FORTIES." This phrase has been repeatedly used by Mr. Chamberlain, and now appears frequently in political leading articles. When and where was it used first ? C. B. A.
HALLS OF THE CITY COMPANIES. Are there many of these halls in existence that are not used by their respective companies? I believe that the Pewterers' Hall is let to a firm of hatters, but I am desirous of knowing whether others are used for similar purposes.
A. F. H.
COPE OF BRAMSHILL. How did the Copes of Bramshill get the baronetcy ?
THOMAS BROWNAVELL.
[We presume that the pedigree given in Burke represents the received view of the descent.]
JAMES AND JANE HOGARTH. I have amongst my collection of memorial rings one
